BACKGROUND: Globally, patterns of the use of psychoactive substances have been changing.
OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the trend in two five-year periods, 1992–1997 versus 2002 – 2007, of alcohol and substance use disorders and associated variables in patients admitted to a drug abuse treatment facility.
METHODS: This was a comparative cross-sectional study involving all patients admitted into Drug Abuse Treatment, Education, and Research (DATER), Unit of the Neuropsychiatric Hospital, Aro, Nigeria within the study period. All subjects had a structured psychiatric interview, a physical examination, laboratory investigations and “DATER” Questionnaire
protocols that elicited socio-demographic, drug and family variables.
RESULTS: The patients in 2002–2007 versus those of 1992–1997 were younger (c2 13.29, p=0.01). More last borns were using drugs by 2002–2007 (c2 11.37, p=0.01). Cannabis was the most abused drug in 2002-2007 (53.5%) as compared to cocaine (44%) in 1992–1997 (c2 35.5, p